Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41874718›Full record

ArticleHernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery2026

Anterior to posterior preoperative risk assessment of abdominal thickness compared to BMI in ventral hernias.

Paul J Brosnihan, Erik T Pihl, Austin E Reifel, Patrick K Choi, Kathryn T Chen, Ashkan Moazzez, Junko J Ozao-Choy

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Paul J BrosnihanDepartment of Surgery, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Box 461 , 1000 W Carson Street, Torrance, CA, USA. pbrosnihan@dhs.lacounty.gov.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0005-5037-7118
Erik T PihlDepartment of Surgery, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Box 461 , 1000 W Carson Street, Torrance, CA, USA.
Austin E ReifelDepartment of Radiology, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA.
Patrick K ChoiDepartment of Radiology, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA.
Kathryn T ChenDepartment of Surgery, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Box 461 , 1000 W Carson Street, Torrance, CA, USA.
Ashkan MoazzezDepartment of Surgery, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Box 461 , 1000 W Carson Street, Torrance, CA, USA.
Junko J Ozao-ChoyDepartment of Surgery, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Box 461 , 1000 W Carson Street, Torrance, CA, USA. jozao-choy@dhs.lacounty.gov.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundObesity is a known risk factor for recurrence following ventral hernia repair. BMI is often used to define obesity, and we have previously shown a BMI > 33.67 associated with higher recurrence. In 2023, AMA policy highlighted BMI as an imperfect measurement of obesity and recommended limitations to its use. This study's objective was to evaluate the association between anterior-to-posterior abdominal wall depth (APD) in CT measurements with hernia recurrence as an alternative to BMI.

methodsData was retrospectively collected for patients from a county healthcare system, undergoing elective ventral hernia repair from 2014 to 2020 with fascial defects > 4 cm and preoperative CT scans. CART analysis was performed to determine the APD threshold for recurrence. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to compare APD and BMI as predictors of recurrence. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to depict the recurrence-free survival period.

results267 patients met our inclusion criteria. Mean APD at L4 was 27.67 cm. APD of 29.7 cm was determined as the threshold for recurrence. Area under the curve for APD > 29.7 cm and BMI > 33.67 were 0.617 (p = 0.046) and 0.577 (p=0.189) respectively. Five-year recurrence free survival was 70% for APD ≤ 29.7 cm and 37% for APD > 29.7 cm.

conclusionIn our study, the use of APD CT measurements provided an objective, reproducible, and rapid method to augment preoperative evaluation for visceral obesity and the risk for hernia recurrence that was not reliant on traditional BMI, and, in fact, improved upon a simple BMI threshold.

Indexed as

Abdominal WallBody Mass IndexHernia, VentralHerniorrhaphyObesityAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRecurrenceRetrospective StudiesRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsROC CurveTomography, X-Ray ComputedBMIElective hernia repairHernia recurrenceVentral herniaVisceral obesity

Identifiers

PMID41874718
PMCPMC13013144

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.